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IN THEIR WORDS: Reflections as Muhammad Ali laid to rest

As Muhammad Ali is laid to rest with a public funeral and private burial, some of the world's most famous faces reflect on a man known simply as "The Greatest."

Ali is to be buried Friday after a procession in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

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"I feel like Louisville KY is now my home, as I'll make many visits to Ali beloved resting place in the future." — heavyweight boxer George Foreman.

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"We saw an expression of the extraordinary strength of his human spirit during the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996, when The Greatest Of All Time did not hesitate to expose his affliction when lighting the Olympic cauldron. One can only imagine what it meant to this champion, who was so proud of his physique and good looks, to expose his own frailty with the eyes of world on him. This inspirational act gave hope and strength to the billions of spectators around the globe. It was his greatest Olympic moment and I was not alone to wipe the tears from my eyes." — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach

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"He was my idol, my friend, my mentor. He was someone that I looked up to and someone who I tried to emulate during my boxing career." — boxer Sugar Ray Leonard

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"His dignity in the ring and his sense of heroism beyond the ring made him a living legend. ... He never stopped winning battles whether it was in the ring or outside the ring." — Rev. Jesse Jackson

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"It's the end of an era and a sad day for the world. Muhammad Ali once asked me to sing 'I am, I said' for him at my office. Of course, I did." — singer Neil Diamond

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"There were a lot of guys back then that you looked up to as men, as opposed to sports figures, because of what they did walking away from the game, as opposed to what they did in the ring. So, as a young man growing up, that taught me a lot as far as respecting myself and understanding what I need to do growing up as a man." — New York Jets coach Todd Bowles

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